


The Lost of the Grey

by Xazien



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-31
Updated: 2015-01-07
Packaged: 2018-03-04 10:59:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3065327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xazien/pseuds/Xazien
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how the Champion of Kirkwall delved into the belly of the world to rescue her lost Grey Warden brother from an unknown fate. The story of how the Grey Wardens faced legions of dwarves, Qunari, Templars and demons to secure a secret that could see Thedas descend into a world war. The story of how Tamra Hawke first met the man she would one day follow physically into The Fade: the traitor Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Traitor Teyrn

Candles flickered weakly in the dimly-lit room in the tallest tower of the Free Marches Warden Keep. Carver sat squinting in the half-light at his commander: Warden-Commander Jean-Marc Stroud of the Free Marches. Carver had always had great respect for his commander: he’d carried him out of the Deep Roads, seen him through his Joining, encouraged and supported him every step of the way through his career as a Grey Warden. Stroud never demanded too much but never coddled, led by example instead of barking orders. But he was a man with a great many secrets, Carver realised, and most of them he’d take to his grave. Tonight, however, there was one he planned to share and he’d given Carver the honour of being one of the first to hear it. 

"Carver," Stroud said with a sigh. "I find myself in the difficult position of asking for your help, and your help alone. You are doubtless the most dedicated of all my Wardens. You and I have fought side by side against darkspawn more times than I can count. This means that I respect you enough to trust with this most deadly, high-risk mission. Believe me when I say that this mission will no doubt change Thedas more than all the major events of the past century combined. And this has without doubt been an eventful hundred years." Carver nodded, quietly glowing with pride as Stroud got up from his chair and walked over to the window.

"You remember Katana, yes? The Tal-Vashoth Senior Warden, who left for her Calling last week? We don’t know if it was deliberate or by accident but when she left she took the most priceless document the Wardens have ever possessed with her. A document, coincidentally, that she herself gave to the Wardens after her Joining. I will be sending you with a squad of Wardens from your homeland, Fereldan, into the Deep Roads to find her. Bring her back, if you can, but whatever happens the document must make it out of the Deep Roads and must not fall into the hands of anyone, even the darkspawn."

"A document?" Carver asked. "What kind of document? We’re warriors, Stroud. Not bureaucrats."

"That’s confidential, Carver. All you need to know is that you and your team must retrieve it. Speaking of your team I believe they’ve just arrived."

Turning his head towards the tall wooden door, Carver heard a creak and saw it swing open. Five Wardens walked in: one human mage, two dwarves (a man and a woman, each toting a large battleaxe), an elf warrior with Dalish vallaslin upon her face and another human, a warrior this time, standing tall and proud and… familiar.

Before the Fereldan Wardens could even utter a word Carver was on his feet, a dagger in his hand slashing towards the neck of the man who stood before him. With a sigh of reluctance, having clearly endured this before, Loghain Mac Tir ducked the dagger with ease and countered with a punch upwards that knocked Carver off of his feet. Carver spat out some tainted blood and pulled himself to his feet.

"Him?" he shouted incredulously at Stroud. "This man betrayed Fereldan. I fought at Ostagar. I saw friends die, slaughtered by the darkspawn because he abandoned us. Because of him the darkspawn overran my home town and my sister died. And you expect me to work with him?"

"Yes, I do," Stroud said sternly. "Senior Warden Loghain has had five years in which to prove his worth to the Wardens and has done so excellently. You should be honoured to work with him."

"That you should, Warden Carver," Loghain said with a chuckle. "I’ll be leading this little expedition so you’d better stay in line. Trust me, my friends here won’t be so kind to you if you slit my throat while I sleep in the middle of a thaig." 

Carver sneered at Loghain, the hatred in him almost boiling over.

"Let me introduce my companions here," Loghain said cockily, sauntering over to the other Wardens that stood by the door. "Senior Warden Captain Oghren," he said, pointing to the male dwarf. "Fought beside the Hero of Fereldan, along with myself, against the Blight and The Mother. Now serves as a Warden and commands Amaranthine’s military forces." Oghren started to chuckle before interrupting himself with a belch. Loghain nodded down to the female dwarf. "This is Helga, former member of Orzammar’s warrior caste, one of the many dwarvern warriors sent by King Bhelen to serve with the Wardens in thanks for helping him ascend to the throne." Helga beamed with pride, her smile almost as bright as her well-polished axe. Loghain then stood between the mage and the Dalish, an arm around each of them. "Finn and Ariane, two of our newest recruits."

"Fought beside the Warden-Commander himself, we did!" Finn announced proudly as he leaped forwards and Ariane sighed. "Fought ghosts, darkspawn, even a varterall! Saw him leave through an Eluvian with the witch Morrigan herself, we did! Headed straight to Vigil’s Keep afterwards to report what happened and volunteered as recruits right away!"

"Sit down, Finn," Loghain ordered. "You’ll soil yourself." He looked at Carver, a smug grin on his face. "Well then, willing to join our merry band of adventurers? Of course you are. We’ll be leaving for the Deep Roads in a week, get packed and prepared then meet us at the Deep Roads entrance north of here to join us. Don’t be late." And with that, Loghain strode out of the room, the other Wardens following dutifully.


	2. Merry Band of Misfits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks after Carver and Loghain's expedition left for the Deep Roads, Stroud grew suspicious and realised they'd been down there for far too long. Not wanting to risk more of his men to save them he contacted Hawke, telling her about Carver's disappearance and requesting her help. She agreed and she and Stroud set up a small expedition to search the Deep Roads for the missing Wardens

Hawke hated the Deep Roads. Everyone, it seemed, hated the Deep Roads, but she just liked talking about it more. Because they were really stupid. They had stupid statues and stupid darkspawn and were made of stupid rock. Not even good rock, like the stuff they made buildings out of. Weird underground glowy rock, some of which made people insane. That kind of stupid rock.

She wasn’t going to leave though, obviously. If Carver was in trouble, she was going to help and any darkspawn or weird rock that got in her way was going to pay the price. Not that she didn’t wish the company she had was a little better, mind you. Anders stood to her left, muttering with contempt under his breath about ‘bloody darkspawn’ and ‘those bloody Wardens’. Well it was his own fault he was there, he’d volunteered to come along with her. As had Sebastian, who skulked around Hawke’s right side shooting venomous glares at Anders. When Sebastian had heard of the chance to work with and even rescue some of those Grey Wardens he idolised so much he’d leaped at the chance, practically dashing off into the Deep Roads before Hawke could even get all her kit together. His expression had turned decisively sour when he’d heard Anders would be coming with them, however. He’d spent most of this little expedition hanging back and talking to their Warden escorts while Hawke and Anders talked. Mainly about cats.

The Warden escorts Sebastian was getting friendly with were Stroud, who had insisted on coming with them, and an elven Warden named Magnus. A former City Elf, Magnus had been driven out of the Alienage by a mob of fellow elves after his night-time habits of hunting down and executing humans who mistreated the elves had brought the wrath of Estwatch’s City Guard down upon them. Magnus had left to join the Dalish but instead had run into a band of Tevinter slavers. Desperate to escape after they gave chase at the sight of him, Magnus had fled into a long cave that ended up leading him to the Deep Roads. The Tevinters had followed him. That would have been the end for Magnus if the disturbance hadn’t caught the attention of a nearby ogre. Magnus had hidden behind a boulder as the ogre massacred the slavers, eventually succumbing to its wounds once the last Tevinter lay dead. It was then a Warden patrol had come across Magnus. Assuming he had felled the ogre after it killed the slavers the Wardens had recruited him. He’d served proudly ever since.

“Stop,” said Stroud from the back, startling everyone. They’d all been extremely tense after running into a darkspawn squad at almost every corner. Any moment they expected an Archdemon to swoop down onto them or a Broodmother to crush the life out of them. “Look, over there. A camp. The fire-pit is still smoking.” The party rushed up to a large campsite in a small cave off of the path. Anders knelt down next to the fire-pit, squinting suspiciously.

“This doesn’t look like a Warden camp. See the markings on the walls? Warning sigils, designed specifically to alert those nearby when darkspawn are near. A Grey Warden wouldn’t need a sigil to detect darkspawn. This cave is also a bad place to camp in the Deep Roads. Any Warden would know to camp somewhere with plenty of escape routes. This would leave anyone in the camp cornered in the event of an attack.”

“I know whose camp this is,” said Sebastian, sniffing the air suspiciously. “I recognise the smell of that incense, they used to burn it all the time in the Chantry during prayer.”

“I recognise another smell too,” said Anders, shooting up with obvious shock. “I used to smell it all the time in The Circle. It’s refined lyrium. This was a Templar camp.” 

Magnus scoffed, stepping into the cave and looking around the campsite. “Templars? They have no business being down in the Deep Roads. It must be lyrium smugglers, maybe the Carta. They mine lyrium from these tunnels.”

Stroud shook his head. “Not down this deep, especially after the Carta’s main base in Orzammar was cleaned out. These days they rarely operate below the surface. I don’t know what Templars would be doing down here, but-”

“Are you sure about that, Warden-Commander?”said Hawke with a raised eyebrow. “I've played enough Wicked Grace in my time to know when someone is holding back. The Templars are here, aren’t they? They’re after whatever you sent Carver down here to find. What was that, by the way?”

“A document,” Stroud said, his lips pursed and eyes full of contempt. “Taken by a Warden by accident when she went on her Calling. Your brother was simply sent with an expedition to retrieve it. I have no idea why The Chantry would be interested in it.” Hawke raised another questioning eyebrow and smirked.

“Have it your way, Stroud. All I’m interested in is getting my brother out of this pit alive. But if this document of yours is known to The Chantry half of Thedas could have heard of it by now. You know how my luck goes.” With that, Hawke strode out of the cave, Anders hurriedly following. Sebastian, Stroud and Magnus sighed, following her out.

“Keep an eye on Sebastian,” Hawke whispered to Anders. “If The Chantry gets in the way of finding Carver, we can’t rely on him to side with us over them."

“Trust me,” Anders replied. “I watch him anyway. Any excuse to put him down is good enough for me.”


	3. Blessed Are The Peacekeepers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke and her expedition have made camp in an old thaig for the night, planning to resume their search for Carver and Loghain in the morning. They do not consider, however, that they are not the only ones searching for the lost expedition. The darkspawn are not the only threat in the Deep Roads.

They had set up wards around the campsite but Stroud still insisted on guard shifts while they slept. He was the Warden, Hawke supposed. He knew more about this than she ever could. She sighed. Just ten more minutes to go and she and Magnus could wake up Sebastian and Anders for their shift. Maker, she was tired, and Magnus’s insistence on keeping a stony silence didn’t help fill her with energy. She couldn’t figure that man out, she thought to herself. He sat on a boulder, staring with wild eyes into the tunnel they’d just left. He’d been like that for the past three quarters of an hour. Was he listening to the darkspawn? Did he find some semblance of comfort in their call? She had no idea how close he was to his Calling, after all. She felt a knot in her stomach. The Calling, the thing all Wardens feared. Someday Anders would leave Kirkwall to wander the Deep Roads and be slain or turn into one of those tainted monsters. One day the brother she’d tried so hard to save would do the same, killed by the very thing that she’d allowed to save his life.

“Bathroom break, back in a second.” Hawke spun around in shock but Magnus didn’t react, just wandering off into a corner of the ruined dwarvern building. Those were the first words he’d spoken in hours. He intimidated her, she had to admit it, and she’d killed much tougher things than him single-handedly in the past. Maybe it was the lingering sense of fear from being in the Deep Roads. She remembered one day from her childhood when she’d found a cave in the fields near where she used to play. Every step she’d taken into it made her feel more and more alienated, like the walls of the cave itself were screaming at her to leave. Eventually she’d fled, right into the waiting arms of her father. He’d comforted her, consoled her and then hurriedly sent for the local guards to come and seal the cave. It was an entrance to the Deep Roads, he’d told her, and it was lucky she’d found it. ‘Because of the darkspawn?’ she’d remembered asking. Her father had shaken his head. ‘There are more things to be feared in those tunnels than darkspawn, Tamra.’

Hawke shook her head and wiped tears from her eyes. She was getting too tired; she had to focus on keeping watch. Speaking of keeping watch, where was Magnus? He’d been gone for-

She gave out a muffled gasp as an armour-clad hand clapped over her mouth and a wave of cold energy passed over her. Silencing. A Templar ability. Hawke kicked and struggled as the Templar bound her arms and dragged her towards the middle of the camp. Anders, Stroud and Sebastian lay bound and gagged by the fire, Anders fuming with more hatred than Hawke had ever seen. Magnus lay unconscious by the wall. Five Templars surrounded them, along with a man and a woman who each wore unfamiliar armour that bore the Chantry crest. One of the Templars stepped forward, removing her helmet and revealing her dark skin and shaved head. A greatsword was slung across her back, the hilt bearing the seal of the Templar order.

“We apologise thoroughly for our approach but I must admit it would have been easier to kill you. Especially a writhing little apostate like yourself.” The woman sneered down at Anders, who seethed silently in response. “But Grey Wardens are servants of The Maker as much as the Templars, Champion Hawke has slain a great many Qunari heretics and this man here proudly wears the armour of a Chantry brother. The Maker rains down his wrath on those who spill the blood of the faithful. I am Knight-Captain Avaunt of the Wycombe Templar Order, sent into this blighted tunnels to do The Maker’s duty. What brings you here? No true Warden expedition consists of just two Wardens and a band of strangers.” Avaunt nodded at the Templar restraining Hawke and she gasped for air as she felt the gagging hand leave her face.

“We came down here to look for a lost expedition. My brother was on it. I don’t know what you’re doing down here but we have no wish to stand in your way.” She glanced at Anders. “Especially not him, he loves Templars. You can hardly get him out of the Chantry, I swear half his yearly wage from The Blooming Rose must go into the donation plate.”

Avaunt thought for a second, then looked at Hawke with a steely glare that would rival Meredith’s. “And what, exactly, was your brother’s expedition searching for? Surely Warden-Commander Stroud must have shared this with you?” Hawke shrugged.

“Looking for darkspawn, I suppose. I don’t think-”

“Utter tripe!” declared the man in the strange, non-Templar Chantry armour. “The Wardens knew about the document long before we did, I always said they’d have a head start on us.”

“Stand down, Seeker Lucius,” Avaunt declared. Of course, the Seekers of Truth. The Templar Order’s babysitters.

“You don’t get to order me, Knight-Captain.” Lucius thundered.

The female Seeker laid a hand on Lucius’s shoulder, which he batted away with anger. “Calm down, Lucius," she assured him. "For all we know these Wardens may take our side in the matter,” said the other Seeker. Lucius spat.

“You’re too trusting, Seeker Teresa. Two among their number are non-Warden apostate, for one thing. I hardly think-” There was a sudden snap, like a twig had been stepped on. Everyone froze, and out of the corner of her eye Hawke saw Magnus begin to stir back into consciousness.

“It came from outside,” Seeker Teresa said with a whisper. “Should we-” She didn’t get to finish before an explosion blew the wall behind her apart, knocking her and Lucius off of their feet. Hawke saw Magnus’s eyes snap open at the sound of the explosion and Avaunt and her Templars draw their blades and charge at the attackers that surged through the thaig wall. As the Templars fought off these unknown assailants, Magnus pulled himself to his feet and began cutting the bonds of the expedition. As he rushed to Hawke last and cut through the ropes binding her she saw the dust stirred up by the explosion begin to clear. Two of the Templars lay dead, another was helping Avaunt pull Lucius and Teresa to their feet. The last was still fighting the attackers as his four surviving comrades fled. As the dust finally settled and Avaunt and her cohorts disappeared into a tunnel, Hawke could make out the attackers. They were a fearsome sight, standing taller than any grown human man with horns that almost scratched the roof of the thaig. They wore no armour, their allegiance was instead made clear by the red body paint they smeared over their shirtless torsos.

Qunari.

As Hawke and rest of the expedition pulled themselves to their feet a Qunari woman strode forwards and used an enormous sword to cut down the last Templar. Her foe now dead, she turned to Hawke and the expedition. Looking Hawke dead in the eye, she sheathed her blade, the rest of the Qunari following suit.

“You are basalit-an, the former Arishok declared it himself. For that we see fit to sheath our weapons for now, at least until your motives for being here are known.” The Qunari woman strode forwards, her presence seeming to fill the entire room. “My title is Sten, I am a warrior of the Beresaad. The Qun dictates that I lead my people down into these blighted tunnels to retrieve a document vital to our people’s survival. Does your interest conflict with this?”

“A Sten?” Sebastian said suspiciously from somewhere behind Hawke. “I thought the Qunari forbade their women from merely fighting, let alone holding such a high rank.” Sten gave Sebastian a withering glare.

“The Qun gives a role to those who are most suited to it. The Tamassrans saw the skill I had in combat from a young age and sent me to fulfil my best-suited role: that of a soldier. The Qun does not oppress and restrict like the societies of the Bas, it allows its people to fulfil their greatest potential.” Hawke saw Anders purse his lips from the corner of her eye. She hoped he held his tongue; he was always too fond of arguing.

“We simply seek to find our lost brothers, Sten,” Stroud called from the back. “The Champion came along to find her lost brother, part of the expedition that went missing.” Sten raised an eyebrow in question. It was the most emotion Hawke had ever seen a Qunari express.

“Your lost brothers, what was it they were searching for down in these pits?”

Stroud went pale. “They were simply hunting-”

“Do not lie to me, Bas!” Sten barked. “We allowed you to live out of respect for basalit-an. We have been observing your movements for some time, almost as soon as you entered these tunnels. We have heard what you and your brother-in-arms talk about in private, what you keep from the others who fight by your side.” Sten glared accusingly and Stroud and Magnus, who took a step back in fear. Stroud had gone as white as a sheet and Magnus was shaking. Anders glared at the two Wardens while Sebastian kept his gaze fixed on the Qunari.

“We gave you a chance to be honest with us. We held out hope that you may make allies of us in your search. But have not been honest. You will be obstacles in our path. Soldiers, attack! Anaan Esaam Qun!”

The Qunari soldiers drew their blades and surged forwards, bellowing war cries. Stroud gave a yell of retreat but they didn’t need telling twice. Hawke, Sebastian, Anders, Stroud and Magnus bolted, running from the Qunari as fast as possible while thrown spears sailed over their heads. Anders blindly hurled spells back at the Qunari while Sebastian fired arrows behind him without even looking. The Qunari gave chase as the expedition fled into a tunnel, every one of them praying they didn’t stumble across a darkspawn horde as they fled.

“Quick, in here!” Magnus cried. He’d spotted a cave, small enough to not be noticed easily but big enough to hide in. The expedition swerved right and dashed into the cave, each one of them gracelessly flinging themselves inside as the Qunari turned the corner into the tunnel. The cave was, in fact, quite large, with an open door at the far end leading to another tunnel. Hawke held her breath as the Qunari patrol charged past and sighed with relief as they passed by.

“Well, this is a predicament.” Hawke turned to Stroud. “Well your whole story about this document is beginning to look a lot more interesting now, isn’t it? Mind telling us the whole thing? If you’ve gotten my brother killed you’d better have a good reason.”

Stroud sighed. “The nature of your brother’s mission is official-”

Hawke made a fart noise with her mouth. Anders and Sebastian chuckled. Magnus and Stroud looked at her like she was insane.

“If you’re not willing to co-operate, I’m not willing to work with you. Anders, Sebastian, follow me.” Hawke marched off towards the open door, Anders by her side and Sebastian behind them. “My brother is the only close family I have left, Stroud,” Hawke called back as she and Anders passed through the door. “If your Warden-” Suddenly there was a click and, to the cacophony of grinding cogs, the door shut behind Hawke and Anders, sealing them off from the others. Anders dashed to the door.

“Stroud? Magnus? Sebastian? Are you there?” Anders cried out, then swore and kicked the door. “The door is sealed, there’s no way through. It’s like Bartrand’s bloody expedition all over again except this time it’s just you and BLOODY ME!” Anders yelled as he punched the door in frustration. “Maker dammit! I’m not dying in these damned tunnels, not like this.”

“It is just like Bartrand’s expedition,” called a voice from the other side of the tunnel, making Hawke and Anders spin around in shock. “You, me, my sister and a sealed door. All we need is Varric and some red lyrium and it’s just like old times.” Carver Hawke stood there, tall, proud and soaked in darkspawn blood, beaming at his sister. “I think I have some explaining to do.”


	4. Sympathy for the Devil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally reunited, Hawke, Carver and Anders seem to have completed their mission. But with one half of their own group trapped behind a sealed door and no sign of Carver's fellow Wardens, Hawke begins to realise that their mission is far from over.

Hawke ran up to Carver, arms flung wide, and the two embraced while smiling.

“Bet you thought you’d seen the last of me, eh sister?” Carver Hawke laughed.

“I sure did," Hawke replied. "The last I heard of you going down to the Deep Roads you barely dragged yourself out in one piece. Anders, come over and say hello.” Carver brushed past Hawke and walked over to Anders, surprising him by extending a hand.

“Anders, my friend. It’s been too long.” The two Wardens shook hands, Carver beaming all the way. He then looked back at the door that had sealed shut behind them.  
“Looks like the mechanism went wrong, slammed shut after one of you brushed past it maybe. Most of the old dwarvern technology down here is starting to break down anyway.”

He turned back to Hawke, still smiling that wide smile. “At least you made it through, sister.” He hugged her again, and when they parted he looked down at her and his smile turned to a frown as he saw her snarling face and she pushed at the air, throwing him back and pinning him against the wall.

“Nice try, whoever you are, but you’re not my brother.”

“Hawke!” Anders exclaimed. “What in Andraste’s name are you doing?” Hawke strode up towards Carver, who was pinned to the wall and writhing, and held her knife to his throat.

“When I first hugged him I sensed something in him. A sort of energy, a magical buzz, like the feeling I get when I leave the fade after waking from a dream. You must have sensed it too, when you shook his hand. That was the real giveaway, by the way. My brother would never greet Anders like a friend.” Anders’s eyes widened in shock.

“I sensed something too, I assumed it was just the Taint but...” Anders’s lip curled. “You’re a demon. An Envy demon, judging by your ability to disguise.” The imposter Carver glared at Anders and blinked, his eyes glowing red when they reopened.

“You’re too late,” the demon hissed. “Your brother will be dead by now, along with all the other Wardens. We will kill the Qunari and the Templars, slaughter the friends you brought with you and then secure what our masters want.” Anders frowned.

“Demons don’t normally talk of masters, Hawke. This demon has been bound by blood magic. Who sent you? Do they want this document everyone seems to be chasing?” The demon hissed again and Anders sighed. “Say what you want about Justice but at least he doesn’t hiss.” His eyes widened. “Of course. Justice.”

Anders motioned for Hawke to move aside as he walked towards the imposter Carver. “I have a spirit inside me, Hawke, you know that. It’s only theory, seeing as no-one has ever really cared about the fate of demons, but I may be able to use the spirit the free the demon of its binding. Envy demons are not animalistic abominations or mindless shades. They’re as smart as you or I. If I let this demon go it may lead us to Carver’s expedition, as well as whoever bound it.”

“Are you serious? Help a demon? That’s how abominations are created.”

“Not like this. This isn’t the Fade. If we help it it’ll help us.” 

“I don’t trust this, Anders, but...” Hawke sighed. “Maker dammit Carver, the things I do for you. Fine. Do it. Free the demon.”

Anders took in a deep breath, braced himself and suddenly there was a flash of black and blue fire. Justice stood before Hawke, glowing and burning with magical energy. The spirit sneered viciously at the Envy demon, who was still held writhing against a wall by Hawke. Justice shot a glare at Hawke, who backed off and let the demon fall to the ground. Still threateningly silent, Justice grabbed ‘Carver’ by the neck and shoved him against the wall. The demon struggled as blue light flooded over it, letting out a soft hum as it went. Once the light had fully enveloped it the demon let out a shriek and Justice a roar, there was a sudden bright flash of light which nearly blinded Hawke and Justice and the demon dropped to the ground. Both lay there for a moment, then Justice stopped glowing and Anders pulled himself up, the Envy demon stirring and pulling itself to its feet.

“Well well,” the demon said with surprise. “Not every day a spirit steps in to help a demon in its time of need. Mages, however, I can’t say the same for. Such kindly folk.”

“Enough prattle, demon,” Anders retorted. “We freed you. You owe us. Tell us who bound you then take us to the lost Wardens, if you still can.” The Envy demon laughed softly, dancing around each note playfully. It was toying with them.

“I was summoned and bound by a magister of the Tevinter Imperium, one Lord Dantius Erimond, along with many other demons of varying degrees of power. We travelled with Lord Erimond down into the Deep Roads in search of the Senior Warden Katana, whom Lord Erimond believed to be in possession of a most vital document the nature of which is unknown to me. Imagine our surprise when we found not only Grey Wardens searching for their lost comrade, but The Chantry and Qunari also joining in the hunt. Then along comes the Champion of Kirkwall with her own merry band of misfits. What a busy day. The Warden expedition is quite safe, I assure you. Well there was one casualty but not the man I was sent to impersonate. Magister Lord Erimond planned to plant demons inside them so he’d have yet more allies in his search, allies that Katana might trust.”

“Erimond?” Anders frowned. “House Erimond is one of Tevinter’s oldest and most powerful. Did Magister Lord Erimond come here of his own behest, or does this go higher? Did the Archon himself order this?” The demon shook its head.

“Higher than that. The Black Divine himself ordered House Erimond to dedicate itself to the retrieval of this most sought-after document. They have sent numerous expeditions down here over the past month since Senior Warden Katana left for her Calling. This one is simply the most recent.”

“And can you take us to Erimond?” Hawke asked. “To my brother?” The demon nodded.

“Just follow me down this path. Don’t worry, I’m one of the more trustworthy demons. If you can get those. I want to run into darkspawn or Qunari as little as you do.” Reluctantly, Hawke and Anders followed after the demon. “They’re just a few tunnels away; they sent me to find you and your group when one of us sensed your presence.” They turned a corner. Hawke could feel the magic in the air like it was a solid force. “They’re just in this cave here.”

Hawke and Anders peered around the corner. Sure enough, there was a group of demons. Rage, desire, terror, even a pride demon standing by the ruins of an old dwarvern house. And in the middle of them all sat a circle of Wardens, a man in mage robes standing over them brandishing a staff. A binding circle surrounded the Wardens, keeping them prisoner. There were three humans in the circle, one in mage robes and the other two in armour. Hawke’s eyes widened as she recognised one of the warriors as Carver. The other warrior was also startlingly familiar. She examined the rest of the circle. A dwarvern man and a Dalish woman also sat there, bound. Stroud had described the expedition as six members strong but she only counted five. She recalled the casualty the demon had spoken of.

“Well the three of us can’t take on all those demons AND a magister. Suggestions?”

“I have one.” The Envy demon stepped forwards and then pushed past Anders as he dashed into the cave, Hawke reaching out to grab him but missing.

“What the hell is it doing?” Anders hissed. “It’s betrayed us, we should never have-” Anders paused. “Wait a second...”

“Darkspawn!” the demon shouted, turning the heads of everyone in the cave. Hawke’s stomach did a flip as Carver’s eyes passed over the corner she was peering around. She also got a better look at that other human warrior. She knew that face, she’d swear it on Andraste herself. Envy ran into the cave to stand before Magister Lord Dantius Erimond. “Darkspawn. They killed the other expedition and chased after me. I collapsed the tunnel behind me but they’ll be coming through there any second.” Envy gestured wildly at a tunnel behind Erimond. The Magister’s spun around to see the tunnel and Hawke caught a glimpse of his face: unshaven, covered in blonde stubble. His face was dirty. No self-respecting Magister Lord would dare appear so scruffy willingly. He and his demons must have been down in the Deep Roads for ages.

“Maker be damned,” cursed Erimond. His voice was nasal and whining. “You there,” he pointed at the pride demon. “Get into the tunnel and kill the darkspawn. Just keep them off me until I finish the ritual then we’ll have the numbers we need to complete this expedition, and any southern Chantryfolk or Qun-dogs that get in our way will regret it with their dying breaths.” The pride demon stomped off into the cavern, hands crackling with lightning. Erimond looked at Envy. “You say the other expedition was killed? What of the Qunari? What about those attack hounds the southern Chantry sent to do its dirty work?”

“You talk of dirty work, Magister,” Envy mused. “But keeping demons as slave to do your bidding? That’s low.”

“Wha-” Erimond didn’t even finish his first word before Envy’s hand morphed into a jagged blade and was plunged into Erimond’s stomach, the Magister Lord gasping with surprise. On cue Hawke and Anders leapt from behind cover, a single ice blast from Hawke killing the rage demon and a blast from Anders knocking the terror demon off its feet. Envy threw a blast of energy at the desire demon, cutting it in half, then strode towards the terror demon that struggled on the floor while energy coursed through it. Envy’s hand glowed red with magic and it punched down, crushing the terror demon’s head. Envy turned back to the limp figure of Dantius Erimond, who lay dying on the ground. His breaths were getting shallower and shallower by the second. He’d lost a lot of blood.

“Stop!” To Hawke’s surprise, Anders ran out to Envy’s side. “You don’t have to kill him.”

“Of course I do, meatsack. Killing him is the only way to break the binding circle the Wardens are trapped in.”

“But it doesn’t have to be you. After I unbound you it would have been easier for you to just kill me and Hawke.” Hawke dashed over to Anders to stand by his side in front of Envy. “But you didn’t. You helped. You killed a magister for us, and two of your own kind. You weren’t always a demon, were you? Not until Erimond pulled you through the Veil and corrupted you. You were a spirit. A rare kind, rarer than Envy demons themselves. A spirit of respect. But Erimond summoned you and twisted you into a demon of envy. But that doesn’t have to be you. You don’t have to give in to your darker side.” Anders took in a deep breath. Hawke could see him clenching his fist and tears brewing in his eyes. “I had a friend. A spirit of justice. But because of me he was corrupted into a demon of vengeance. I tried to help him, I tried to make it all better and now he’s just stuck somewhere inbetween. Let me kill Erimond. You can go, back to the Fade or to the surface or wherever you want. Just don’t let your darker side take over.” Anders’ bottom lip was trembling. Envy looked down at Erimond, disgust in his eyes, and then kicked him lightly. The demon, or perhaps spirit, turned and walked away towards the cave door without uttering a word. Anders hung his head and let out a deep sigh of relief.

“Let’s finish this.”

Anders knelt down next to the dying Erimond, closed his eyes and waved a glowing hand over the Magister’s face. Dantius Erimond wheezed and then released a final breath, his eyes fading until there was no life behind them at all. As Anders closed Erimond’s eyes the binding circle surrounding the Wardens disappeared and the real Carver Hawke leapt to his feet, dashing to his sister to embrace her while Anders stood there smiling at the dwarf who stood before him.

“Well if it isn’t that drunken old fool from back at the Vigil,” he said with a laugh. “I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.” Oghren laughed a big, booming laugh and embraced Anders, a slightly awkward procedure that involved Oghren wrapping his arms around Anders’s legs while the mage patted the dwarf on the back.

“Anders, you old nug humper! I knew you’d drag your sorry ass back into the Deep Roads some day! That miserable old nag Velanna owes me ten sovereigns, I swear it!” The two old friends parted and Anders watched Hawke and Carver do the same.

“Ah, help at last. I wondered when Stroud would send help. I admit I was expecting more. Suffered casualties?”

Hawke’s head shot around to see where the voice came from. It was the Warden, the one she’d recognised. That voice sealed the deal for her. She’d heard it when she and Bethany had snuck into the Ostagar camp to visit Carver.

“Loghain. Loghain Mac Tir.”Hawke’s blood boiled and her hand crackled with lightning. “You let the darkspawn win at Ostagar. You’re the reason the horde attacked my home town, murdered my friends. You’re the reason an ogre crushed my sister to death.” To her surprise, Carver dashed in front of her to stop her.

“No, sister. Senior Warden Loghain may be... unsavoury company,” he shot a glare at Loghain “but he’s more than proven himself during our time in the Deep Roads. He saved me when the demons attacked. Don’t give him the same first greeting I did.” Hawke arched her brow, still leering at Loghain, but took a step back. Anders stepped in to intervene.

“We can decide who killed who later. Right now we need to find the rest of our expedition then get you lot to the surface. Stroud, Sebastian and a Warden named Magnus came with us but we were split up from them. Once we find them we can get out of here.”

“No.” Loghain said. “The mission must be completed, it is vital.”

“This mysterious document everyone seems so interested in?” Hawke asked. “Will somebody EVER tell me what it is? If the Chantry, Imperium, Wardens and Qunari think it important enough to sunder the depth of the world to find, I have to know what it is.” Loghain sighed.

“Well, I suppose you deserve to hear the truth. It’s a map. A map of Par Vollen, the Qunari homeland. The only one of any reliability to escape Qunari hands in the whole of history. When Katana left the Ben-Hassrath for the Wardens she brought it with her, knowing it would be extremely valuable to the Wardens. With it the Imperium or Chantry could finally conquer Par Vollen and destroy the Qunari once and for all. The key and scale were encrypted; we’d spent years decoding it when suddenly we had a breakthrough. The very day we fully decoded the map is the day Katana went on her Calling. We didn’t even notice she’d taken it until the next day.”

“What do the Wardens want with it?”

“Honestly? Blackmail. The Qunari are the most powerful force in Thedas, having them wrapped around our little finger would be invaluable. The Qunari could send masses of troops for the Joining, the Wardens could pour into the Deep Roads and eradicate every last darkspawn and Old God. And now it’s gone, in the hands of a woman who’s more than likely a ghoul by now and being sought after by everyone who’s anyone in Thedas. If the Qunari get the map then we lose a bargaining chip, which is a shame but not world-breaking. But if Tevinter or The Divine get their hands on it? We could be looking at another Qunari War. With tension between Templar and mage at an all-time high and Fereldan still recovering from a Blight, it could destroy Thedas. We need your help, Champion. Erimond may be dead but he told us of a Templar-Seeker expedition down here. If the map gets into their hands we could be seeing the end of our world.”Hawke nodded, eyes wide in awe. What had she gotten herself into this time?

Loghain opened his mouth again to speak but was interrupted by a vast roar from the tunnel behind them that turned the heads of the entire group. The pride demon. It was coming back.


	5. The Stout Folk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hawke and Anders may have rescued Carver and Loghain's expedition at last, but they were separated from the rest of their own search party. Split up from their companions, Sebastian, Stroud and Magnus must find their way through the Deep Roads to reunite with their lost friends.

Sebastian beat at the door with frustration but it was no use. It was sealed tight, Hawke and Anders on the other side. Two mages couldn’t survive on their own in the Deep Roads, not even a Warden and a Champion. True, he didn’t much care for either of them, but he wasn’t about to smile at the thought of Hawke been run through by a darkspawn blade. The thought of that happening to Anders, however, did raise the corners of his mouth slightly.

“The door is sealed, it’s no use,” said Stroud bitterly. “These old dwarvern doors were built to keep Blights at bay, three men won’t do much good. Our best chance is to return to the thaig where the Templars found us and get back on our original route. The route from the thaig offers our best chance at finding the lost expedition, we might even run into Hawke on the way. Perhaps even Katana.” Magnus scoffed. He had a habit of doing that, Sebastian noted.

“Back to the thaig?” the elven Warden said with a sneer. “The Templars could be there, maybe even the Qunari. There’s safety in numbers, we should try and unlock this door and regroup with the mages. I’m not throwing my life away.” Stroud spun around in anger and for a moment Sebastian thought he might strike Magnus.

“If you’re not willing to sacrifice yourself fighting to protect Thedas, you’re not worthy of being a Warden. We’re going back to the thaig then following our original path. If we die along the way then we’ll have fulfilled our duty as Grey Wardens. In war, victory. In peace, vigilance.” Magnus clenched his fist with obvious contempt.

“In death... sacrifice,” he said sarcastically. “Fine. We retrace our steps. If I die and you don’t I will sunder the Veil itself to haunt you, Stroud.” Magnus turned on his heels and stormed off, Stroud sighing as he followed and Sebastian scurrying after them. They wandered down the tunnel they’d came through, thankful that the Qunari hadn’t decided to double back. As they neared the thaig they began to hear voices. Stroud drew his blade.

“Come on, this stuff doesn’t just sprout on the walls you know. I want it all salvaged, everything we can carry. I don’t care if the damn sword is too heavy...”

“Dwarves,” Sebastian heard Magnus mutter under his breath. “Must be hirelings, looters sent into the thaigs to recover lost treasures.” Sebastian nocked an arrow into his bow, steeling himself for a fight. If the dwarves were hostile they’d be outnumbered, no doubt about that.

“Wait! Someone’s coming!” one of the dwarves cried. “Darkspawn! Quick, to arms, to-”

“Wait!” Sebastian cried out. Everyone froze. Then, a small head stuck itself around a corner. It was a dwarvern man with a bushy black beard and an eyepatch, a brand on his face identifying him as casteless.

“Looks like we got some surfacers, boys!” the dwarf cheered, stepping out of the doorway. Sebastian was surprised to see fifteen, perhaps twenty more dwarves shuffle out of various old ruins throughout the thaig. Every last one had a casteless brand on their face. The first dwarf, whom Sebastian assumed was the leader, trotted forwards and bowed.

“The name’s Dravid, faithful servant of King Bhelen. His majesty sent us down here to clear darkspawn out from these tunnels as part of his plan to reclaim the Deep Roads.”

“King Bhelen uses casteless as muscle?” Magnus frowned.

“King Bhelen is a reformer,” Dravid declared proudly. “Soon the caste system will be a thing of the past and we casteless will be free to choose our own way of life. In thanks for his generosity we have dedicated ourselves to serving in his armies, removing these tainted creatures from the halls of our ancestors. And we do so proudly.”

“Then why did we overhear you talking about salvage?” Sebastian retorted. Dravid looked insulted and the dwarves behind him bristled.

“King Bhelen makes use of whatever The Stone bestows upon him. Who are we to turn away the gifts that the ancestors leave for us on our path?” Sebastian wasn’t buying it.

“Then where are your military uniforms? Duster leather armour, that’s what you’re all wearing. Pieced together from scraps others leave behind.” Stroud nodded in agreement.

“I’ve been to Orzammar many times,” Stroud said. “None of you are like any Orzammar dwarves I’ve ever met. You smell of the surface, the outside world. You don’t carry the stench of smoke and soot that Orzammar dwarves do. And look at you all, squinting in the dark. If you were born underground then I’m an Archdemon.” Dravid scowled.

“All right, all right,” the dwarf said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “We’re with the Carta, sent down here to scavenge. We heard word of a Qunari expedition down here and thought, well, whatever the oxmen are looking for must be of value to us. Simple, really.”

“So you’re looters, we get that,” Sebastian replied. “You’re just down here looking for extra gold. Well what if we told you we were on the hunt for a treasure trove ourselves?” Dravid’s eyes widened and sparkled with greed while Stroud and Magnus looked nervous. “That’s right. An ancient trove of enchanted artefacts created by some of the greatest dwarvern smiths in history. The same things the Qunari are searching for. They plan to use them to copy ancient dwarvern enchanting techniques and then toss them aside. That would be a waste of priceless artefacts, wouldn’t it?” Dravid nodded excitedly. “Exactly. Now, if you were all willing to escort me and my friends here through the tunnels we’d be more than willing to share. Sound agreeable? We’re the only ones other than those heathen oxmen that know the location, after all.” Dravid was practically salivating at the thought of it.

“We’d be delighted!” the dwarf declared, his cohorts cheering in response. “Why didn’t you say so before? Lead the way!” Grinning, Sebastian set off towards a tunnel, Dravid and his dwarves scampering along behind him. Stroud leant in to whisper to Magnus as they set off with them.

“We’d better hope the darkspawn get most of them along the way, or we’ll have a lot of angry dwarves to fight once this is done.”

***

They settled down for the night, if you could call it that in the Deep Roads. Sebastian knew he’d taken a great risk by lying to those dwarves but it had been more than worth it so far. They’d run into a huge amount of darkspawn, much more than they’d expected, and five of the dwarves had been killed so far. That left fifteen to kill once they realised they’d been lied to, Sebastian thought. Still too many, and that didn’t included Dravid himself. Sebastian had seen him fight and he was extraordinary. He’d cut down twenty darkspawn single-handedly in less than a minute during their last ambush. He could take Sebastian, Stroud and Magnus easily.

Sebastian felt the tiredness wash over him. Maker, he needed sleep. He’d just finished his prayers to Andraste and The Maker, seeking repentance for the lies he’d told today. He’d felt dirty but the prayers had... cleansed him. He missed The Chantry; he missed Elthina but a chance to fight alongside Grey Wardens? The noblest warriors of The Maker, dedicated purely to the purging of sin? He couldn’t turn that down.

He heard a strange rustling sound and his eyes snapped open. Darkspawn? Templars? Qunari? No. In the half-light provided by the torches hung up around the camp, Sebastian could make out several stout silhouettes dragging a limp human body along the floor. He stifled a gasp. It was Stroud. Were they genlocks, scouts for an upcoming attack? No, he realised, otherwise Stroud or Magnus would have detected them. They were dwarves. Carta dwarves.

Sebastian pulled himself to his feet and picked up his bow, stepping over the slumbering bodies of dwarves as he tiptoed through the camp. Magnus’s bed was empty too. As he turned a corner he saw him, along with Stroud, bound to a pole and gagged. Stroud was being prodded awake by Dravid, who was flanked by three dwarves.

“Alright you three,” Dravid whispered. “Get back in there and get the pretty one. The one in the shiny armour. They’ll spill the beans about where to find the document before the night is done, then we’ll go fetch it, sell it to the highest bidder and live like kings.” Sebastian gritted his teeth. Maker, they were after that damn document. The one everyone else seemed to be looking for. He swore any minute now the united armies of Orlais would come storming down into these caves after it. He hid behind the corner as the three dwarves passed him, then drew his dagger to sneak up on Dravid, who had just woken Stroud.

“Wakey wakey, Warden. Your friend here,” Dravid pointed to Magnus, “has been... less than forthcoming. So how about you tell us where to find this juicy document everyone seems to be so interested in?” Stroud struggled in his bonds, Dravid chuckling at the sight. Sebastian was just meters away now.

“You wanna play it that way, huh? Fine. We’ll see how brave you are when-” Without warning Dravid spun, kicking Sebastian’s feet out from under him and catching his dagger as he fell. The dwarf kicked the fallen Chantry brother in the face and spat on him.

"Nice try, pretty boy. You’ll have to try harder to sneak up on me. I tell you, when my contacts in The Chantry told me about this here document everyone’s been hunting, I thought it would be the perfect get-rich-quick scheme. More fool me, huh?” Dravid whistled out for assistance. “We’ve got a runner, boys! Tie him up and poke him ‘til he squeals!” The dwarf cackled and paused for a moment, waiting for response. He frowned. Nothing.

“What in the name of our-” Dravid leaped back in shock as he heard an almighty crash and a scream. Forgetting about Sebastian, the dwarf bolted back towards the camp, dropping Sebastian’s dagger as he went. Sebastian grabbed his dagger and pulled himself up, dashing over to Stroud and Magnus to free them. He cut their bonds, ungagged them and handed them their weapons, which were lying by their feet.

“Damn treacherous dwarves,” Magnus cursed. “I told you not to trust them, Vael. Now look what you’ve gotten us into.” The screams from the camp were getting louder.

“Enough!” Stroud said. “We have to go and see what’s going on.” He dashed off towards the camp, the others following suit. They turned the corner to see hordes of darkspawn, the dwarves fighting them off but clearly on the losing side.

“How did you not sense them?” Sebastian asked the Wardens incredulously.

“I did,” Stroud replied. “But that was only after I was woken and bound. They must have drugged the food they gave us with something extremely potent. You didn’t eat any of the stew, did you?” Sebastian shook his head.

“I gave my portion to the dwarf at the back of the queue, I had my provisions. The Grand Cleric always told me I’d be rewarded for my kindness.”

He certainly had been, Sebastian thought, looking back at the camp. Nearly all the dwarves lay dead, along with a massive amount of darkspawn corpses. If they hadn’t all been so tired and taken by surprise, they could have won. But they were being massacred. Sebastian saw Dravid cut down a shriek and then break off from the fight, bolting towards them. Several hurlocks and an ogre gave chase. Sebastian looked behind him and saw a large door leading to a new tunnel, one they must have planned to travel through in the morning. That must be what Dravid was running towards.

“Quickly!” Sebastian cried. “In here!” He ran for the door, Stroud and Magnus following. Suddenly there was a cry from right behind him. A shriek had snuck up on them and cut down Magnus. Sebastian froze. Magnus was still alive and hardly wounded, easily capable of being saved, but the shriek was about to pounce at him and the darkspawn chasing Dravid were thundering towards him.

“Sebastian! Leave him!” Stroud cried. He’d made it into the doorway and had his hands around a lever on the wall. Sebastian took one last look back at Magnus, breathed in deeply and then turned and ran. As soon as he made it through the door he turned back to the camp as Stroud yanked the lever down. Magnus had gotten back up and was running towards the door. The last things Sebastian saw before the door slammed shut were an ogre scooping up Dravid and popping him into his mouth and Magnus’s look of pleading desperation as a hurlock sword sliced through his back, cutting him down as he ran. The doors slammed shut with a thud. Sebastian looked at Stroud, shaking.

“Come on,” Sebastian said in a defeated tone. “Let’s get going.” His eyes empty and bleak, Sebastian turned and walked down the tunnel, Stroud walking after him with his head hung low.


	6. Repentance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Carver refusing to leave the Deep Roads until Katana and her map are found, Hawke and Anders must fight with the Grey Warden expedition deeper and deeper underground to find the lost document. Worse, Hawke must put her trust in the leadership of the world's most notorious traitor: Loghain Mac Tir

The pride demon stood there, energy humming and crackling between its hands. It gave a huge, booming laugh and stomped once, sending bolts of lightning arcing everywhere. Hawke took a step back, glancing around nervously and drawing her staff.

“Wardens! Positions!” Loghain yelled from somewhere to Hawke’s left. He made a series of hand gestures and whistles and the Grey Wardens rushed into various positions: the mage ran back to the far end of the cave, the elf ran behind a rock, Carver and the dwarf rushed forwards and stood side by side facing the demon. Loghain himself took several steps back, his shield held firmly in front of him. He was preparing to protect the mage, Hawke realised.

Then they attacked.

With two equally fierce battle cries, Carver and the dwarf charged forwards as the pride demon did the same. As they hacked at the demon’s lower torso the elf leaped from behind the rock, a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, and started slicing away at the demon’s ankles. The monster roared, unsure who to attack first. The decision was made even harder when a fireball struck its face, sending it reeling backwards. The mage fired a series of violent spells at the demon, each one making it roar that much louder. Every bolt of lightning the demon fired back, every orb of energy and beam of magic, Loghain deflected skilfully back at it with his shield. The demon was weakening: it was stumbling, clearly about to fall, and purple blood soaked the ground. With one final, defiant roar it swept out an arm, knocking Carver and the dwarf to the ground, and then kicked back to send the elf flailing backwards. Hawke, Anders and the Warden mage each reached for their staves Loghain gestured at them to stand back. Gritting his teeth, Loghain drew his blade and charged at the demon. As the pride demon fired a lightning bolt at him he leaped into the air, driving his sword into the pride demon’s face as he landed against it. Blood spurted briefly from the demon’s face, splashing onto the stone floor, then as Loghain removed his sword and leaped off it fell down dead.

“Impressed, Champion?”

The Wardens picked themselves back up again and headed over to stand around Loghain, who stood before Hawke and Anders.

“Well, I... you’re certainly a talented leader, Warden Loghain,” Hawke stuttered. That she hadn’t expected. “I suppose I must thank you, at the very least.”

“That you should,” Loghain drawled, grinning smugly. “I didn’t become Fereldan’s General for nothing. Now I believe that we have progress that needs making.”

“What?” said Hawke incredulously. “But you have to help us find Sebastian, Stroud and Magnus!” Loghain laughed.

“We’ve been down here for weeks trying to find one Warden. We just start to pick up their trail and you tell us to go help find two more, plus whatever fool you dragged along with you? No. We find Katana now or the Templars or Qunari find her. I refuse to allow that to happen.”

“Trust me, sister,” said Carver as he stepped forwards. “Warden Loghain knows what he’s doing. You can look for them if you want but we need to get this mission completed and don’t mind going on without you.” Hawke pursed her lips and looked at Anders.

“Remind me why we wanted to save him again?” she whispered bitterly. Anders shrugged.

“Look,” said Loghain. “We might as well give you the kindness of a proper introduction.” He looked at his Wardens, pointing at each one as he went over them. “You already know Carver, of course, and your friend seems acquainted with Captain Oghren.” Anders raised his eyebrows disbelievingly at the word ‘Captain’, and then smirked. Loghain continued. “And here are Finn and Ariane. We had another Warden with us, a dwarf lady named Helga. Darkspawn killed her during our second week down here. Although to be honest if she hadn’t we’d probably be dead by now. One less in the group, more rations left.”

“Your supplies are running out?” Anders asked.

“They were back then,” replied the Dalish woman, Ariane. “We’d planned for this expedition to be a two-week trip, nothing more, but cave-ins cut off the trail we were following to Katana and we ended up getting lost. We ended up finding more supplies on bodies we found, dead adventurers or dwarvern soldiers. It wasn’t pretty.” Hawke grimaced.

“You said you had a trail to follow,” said Anders. “What kind?”

“We didn’t,” said a small voice from the back. It was the mage, Finn. “Not as such. We were following the Templars, they seemed to know where to go. We’ve been following Knight-Captain Avaunt and her cohorts since they entered the Deep Roads, and the Tevinters and Qunari have been following us. We lost them when the Magister found us but we can easily pick up the trail again. Unless the Qunari have been following the same trail and covering their tracks as they’ve gone.” Loghain nodded in agreement.

“We ran into Avaunt and the Qunari,” said Hawke. “A few of the Templars and a couple of Qunari were killed but the rest have escaped. It should be easy to follow their trail. Anders, are you in?” Anders sighed.

“Maker, I suppose I have to be. But I hate the damned Deep Roads, the sooner we’re out of here the better.”

***

Sadly for Anders, ‘soon’ didn’t really factor into it. As the expedition settled down to sleep for the night the miserable apostate sulked bitterly in his tent, refusing to even sit with them for dinner and eating his stew curled up in his bedroll. He could be such a child, Hawke mused. They’d drawn straws for the night watch (Anders again refusing to participate) and, much to her chagrin, Hawke had been paired with Loghain. The aged man sat by the fire that night, warming his hands as Hawke passed time by polishing her already glittering knife.

“Not the monster you’d imagined, is he?”

Hawke turned to see the dwarf, Oghren, shuffling up next to her. Couldn’t sleep, she supposed. Fair enough. She had a hard enough time sleeping in the Deep Roads, let alone trying to do so while hearing the darkspawn. He, as ever, reeked of booze but didn’t seem drunk. It was probably just the ale than ran through his veins.

“I suppose not,” she answered. “I expected more cackling and backstabbing, and he hasn’t lain waste to the masses of Thedas once so far.” Oghren chuckled, giving Hawke an unpleasant blast of booze breath. “You fought beside the Hero of Fereldan, didn’t you? And with Loghain. You know him better than me, what do you think of him?” Oghren stopped chuckling, a sad look filling his eyes.

“When Mahariel first spared the blighter, I thought he’d gone madder than lyrium miner. But I’ve fought with the mean old bastard for a while now and he’s... different. Time in the Wardens, it... changes you. I upped and joined on a whim after the old ball and chain kicked me out but I’m not the same drunken old nug-humper I was back then. I’m different.” He said that last part with a shudder. “He regrets what he did, that much is clear. Who knows, maybe if he hadn’t left half the army to die the other half would have gotten killed. Maybe he didn’t know elves were being sold as slaves in Alienages. But that’s two big maybes. He has to live with all the sneers, the glares, the spitting every day and it’s all from the people of the country he loves more than himself. Imagine it. I think that’s why he’s the most dedicated Warden I ever met since Mahariel himself. It’s the only way he can achieve redemption. He hates himself.”

“Is he a good leader?”Hawke asked. Oghren laughed again, but he still had that same look in his eyes.

“Best damn commander I ever served under, except ol’ Mahariel of course. Do you know how many Wardens have ever died under his direct command in these five years? Four. And that’s four out of hundreds.”

“Hundreds?”

“He keeps being passed around, to be honest. Fereldan, Orlais, the Free Marches, I think he even spent a month leading a Warden expedition in Nevarra once. He’s even fought in The Anderfels. It’s the same story, always is. He gets sent to the Warden-Commander of some country, they put his military commanding experience to use for a few months. He does an exceptional job which results in the deaths of countless darkspawn, then they pack his bags and send him off to serve under whatever Warden-Commander drew the short straw this time. They all hate him and make it clear. They can’t see that however much they hate him he hates himself twice as much. Mahariel gave him a chance and always treated him well under his command. They should have the courtesy to do the same.” Oghren yawned, thankfully aiming his mouth away from Hawke this time.

“Well, I need to get myself some sleep. See yer saggy human ass in the morning, Champion.” The dwarf pulled himself up and trotted into his tent. Hawke sighed as he left, looking back at Loghain. He still sat there, gazing into the fire, those bright orange flames reflected in his eyes.


	7. The Corrupt and the Wicked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Grey Warden expedition has gotten back on Katana's trail and are closing in her more and more every second. However, the same can be said for their opposition. Meanwhile, Sebastian and Stroud are still stumbling through the Deep Roads trying to rejoin Hawke and Anders. They are much closer than they think.

They’d had breakfast, packed up the camp and set off through the tunnels again. Loghain was at the front, as always, Carver following doggedly behind. Some things never changed. Hawke, Anders and Finn were in the middle of the group while Oghren and Ariane brought up the rear. Whether they were attacked from the front or behind the less-armoured members of the group would be safely guarded. Loghain’s plan.

They’d gotten back on the trail of Knight-Captain Avaunt and her men, hoping that they knew what they were doing and weren’t just wandering around and hoping for the best. They’d also seen several signs of Sten and her soldiers, who seemed to be only a couple of hours ahead of them. If the Qunari were delayed by darkspawn at any point, or stopped for extra rest, they’d be forced to fight them and their numbers were less than ideal. The former possible delay seemed unlikely, however. The darkspawn numbers had been... thinning. It seemed like the closer they got to Avaunt and by extension possibly Katana the less darkspawn there where prowling around. Logically they should be fighting darkspawn every step of the way, especially seeing as they were extraordinarily deep down, but they’d fought nothing but a few stragglers in the past few hours. They all prayed it wasn’t connected to whatever they were doing. It probably was.

“Up ahead,” said Loghain warily. “Look. A dead darkspawn.” The group rushed forwards to see a genlock leant up against a wall, a Qunari spear sticking from its chest. The blood was still wet, Loghain realised as he knelt next to it.

“This genlock was killed no more than a minute ago, and with a shot like this it would have died immediately. The Qunari could literally be just around the next corner.” Swords were drawn and staves were gripped as soon as the words left his lips. He was impressed.

“Good. If we have to fight the Qunari it’s highly likely we’ll suffer casualties unless we focus on watching each other’s backs. Focus on defending each other rather than attacking Sten and her people. Move out.” The group nodded unanimously at Loghain, and even Hawke didn’t respond with an argument or witty retort. He was surprised. Drawing his blade, Loghain led the group around the corner. No sign of Qunari or Templars but there were a great deal of dead darkspawn littered around a large open area. They were in a new thaig, Loghain realised. This must have been a town square of sorts. As the expedition set foot into this new thaig they saw it was far more intact than some of the others they’d passed through. Most of the buildings were still intact and unaffected by the Taint. A couple even had veins of lyrium running through them and underground plants and fungi growing. The only thing that marred the view was an enormous crevasse several meters wide that cut through the middle of the thaig, scarring the otherwise untouched beauty of the old settlement.

“Sense any darkspawn?” Hawke whispered. The Wardens and Anders all gave a collective shake of their heads. “Then seeing as hordes of horned giants haven’t swooped down on us yet, does that mean we’re ok?”

“Far from it, apostate,” called a familiar voice from across the thaig. There was a clank of armour as Knight-Captain Avaunt stepped out from behind a building, her blade gripped tightly in her hand. The two Seekers, Lucius and Teresa, flanked her while the other Templar followed behind them.

“Avaunt,” Hawke called out. “My old friend. Sit down, have a drink. We don’t have any ale left, sure, but I’m sure you don’t mind sharing. That’s what friends are for, right? Anders here would especially love to share with you he’s your biggest fan. I hear he’s even written a poem about you. It’s a little long-winded but he has so many feelings about you.”

“Enough!” shouted Avaunt, spitting in Hawke’s direction. The Champion responded with a gasp of mock offense. Her best Orlesian noble impression, in fact.

“You were lucky to escape our wrath before, Champion,” Avaunt declared. “But you ignored our offer of alliance and have hounded us continuously since our first meeting. We seek to do the Maker’s work by purging the Qunari heretics from this world, by standing in our way you are allowing sin to fester and heathens to rule. In Andraste’s name we are to-” she was cut off as Seeker Lucius barged past her, raising his blade at Hawke.

“Enough prattle, Avaunt,” Lucius ordered venomously. “Let’s just kill them and be done with it before the Qunari arrive, then get back to chasing that heathen oxwoman.” Furious, Avaunt shoved Lucius aside and stuck a finger in front of his face.

“Stay in line, Lucius. You’re a bodyguard sent by The Chantry, nothing more.”

“I am a representative of Divine Justinia herself, sent to oversee this most important mission to-” Avaunt scoffed.

“Get to the back, Lucius, and stay there.” The Seeker was livid.

“Uhh, sorry to interrupt...”Hawke said tentatively. The Seekers and Templars glared at her. “Ah, super. Now this is something I’ve been wondering: how is it you’ve been able to track Katana, I wonder? I think I know. You have a phylactery of her blood, don’t you?” Avaunt pursed her lips. “I thought so. But how did you get it?”

“The Chantry knew about Katana’s possession of the Par Vollen Map for several months before she began her Calling. We couldn’t take direct action against the Grey Wardens without significant reprisal, we would need the united armies of southern Thedas to conquer Par Vollen and we’d lose a lot of support if we were seen to be acting against the Wardens. So we sent Antivan Crows in to steal the map. We knew the Wardens kept it in an impenetrable safe when it wasn’t being decoded and when it was it was under constant observation by Katana and the codebreakers she worked with, so we decided to go straight for Katana.” Hawke nodded.

“So the Crows would force Katana to retrieve the map and then they’d give it to you. How did this result in a phylactery being made?”

“The Crows made a mistake,” Avaunt continued. “They woke her up by mistake. Katana is an exceptional fighter, it seems, and she managed to kill all but one of the Crows in hand-to-hand combat before the remaining assassin wounded her with his dagger and escaped. We took her blood from his dagger and used it to create a phylactery. The moment she left for her Calling we had her: she was finally alone and away from Warden care.”

“I guess you didn’t expect the Wardens to come chasing her,” Carver retorted.

“Sit down, boy,” Avaunt yelled back. “Leave the arguing to the adults.” Carver bristled.

“If the bas want to argue,” said another familiar voice from the other side of the thaig. “We should let them. They will talk themselves to death and leave us unopposed.” A large group of warriors, horned and painted bright red, marched in from the other side of the thaig. A woman stood at the front of the group, eyes full of a fiery determination and solidity.

The Qunari were here.

***

Sebastian was going to die down here, he just knew it. Stroud knew it too. First they’d lost Hawke and Anders, then Dravid and his people, and then Magnus. He was almost out of arrows, they were down to their last healing poultice and Stroud’s shield arm was wounded, slashed by a darkspawn a few minutes ago and refusing to heal. It seemed like days since they’d seen Magnus die but in reality it was a couple of hours ago, maybe more. Those few hours had been spent fighting through hordes of darkspawn so thick Sebastian had thought it might be a new Blight in the making. He was going to die in these tunnels, Stroud too. But they’d kill every last darkspawn in the Deep Roads before giving up, that he swore on Andraste herself.

“Are those... voices up ahead?” Stroud asked, panting between words. The Warden’s energy was low and Sebastian worried the wound had been infected, leaving him delirious. To Sebastian’s shock, however, there were voices up ahead. Loud ones. Two women and a man who was too loud. Then another male voice, then one of the two women again. Then a completely different woman, one with a strange accent. His eyes widened when he realised the accent was Qunlat.

“You’re right. I think... I think it might be the Qunari.” Stroud’s face fell.

“Well, we had to run into something other than darkspawn eventually. Come on, Sebastian. One last fight. I expected my last battle to be against the darkspawn but it looks like we have a chance to make this one a good one.” Sebastian nodded.

“Andraste bless you, Stroud.”

And the two of the stood proud, stood tall, and then marched forwards into the unknown.

***

“Qunari, attack!”

It all happened so fast.

The Qunari charged at the Wardens and Templars, swords raised and battle cries sounding. The Templars charged towards the Qunari in response, Loghain gesturing for the Wardens to fight back as the half of the Qunari that didn’t charge at the Templars charged at them. Soon, all three groups found themselves dragged into a vicious melee.  
Hawke ducked a Qunari blade that narrowly missed her head, countering with a fireball that punched through the Qunari’s stomach. She heard a deep howl of pain from behind her and spun around to see Carver cut down a Qunari soldier that was about to strike her from behind. Spinning back around to rejoin the fight Hawke dodged a stab from Seeker Teresa, who quickly flicked her sword back up and almost took Hawke’s eye out. Hawke didn’t even have time to ready a spell before Teresa bashed her off of her feet with her shield. Teresa lunged at Hawke, preparing to plunge her sword into The Champion’s heart, and then there was a ‘thwack’ sound as an arrow smacked into her head and Seeker Teresa flipped backwards, an arrow between the eyes, before hitting the floor stone dead. Leaping back up, Hawke turned to see who stood behind her.

Sebastian, his bow held tightly in his hand, with Stroud by his side.

Hawke was filled with renewed vigour as she saw Stroud charge into the melee and Sebastian nock another arrow into his bow. She hurled lightning at a Qunari soldier, frying its head before it could bring down its axe onto Ariane’s head. On the far side of the melee Hawke saw Knight-Captain Avaunt backing Anders into a corner and rushed to help, knocking Seeker Lucius out of the way as she went. As she rushed towards Avaunt the Templar splayed out her hand and a beam of cold, blue energy struck Hawke. She instantly felt her magic cut off. She’d been Silenced. Anders tried to attack Avaunt from behind but the Knight-Captain knocked him straight to the ground with a punch to the nose. Hawke tried to run but Avaunt kicked her legs out from under her, just missing Hawke with a swing of her greatsword as she rolled out of the way and leaped back up. Avaunt attacked Hawke viciously, forcing her to walk backwards as the Templar’s onslaught became more and more ferocious.

“Hawke! Watch out!”

Hawke heard the voice from somewhere in the fight and glanced behind her. She was being backed into the crevasse. Quickly she twisted around and tried to trip Avaunt but the wily Templar saw it coming, instead flipping Hawke over her back. Hawke lay on the ground, her staff knocked from her hand, while Avaunt stood over her at the edge of the crevasse, her back facing the great abyss behind her.

“Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter,” Avaunt chanted, her sword held high as she prepared to bring it down upon Hawke and finish her. “Blessed are the peacekeepers, champions of the-” Avaunt couldn’t finish before a figure in blue and silver amour dived in front of her and planted a massive kick firmly on her chest that sent her flying backwards. Knight-Captain Avaunt screamed as she flew backwards and into the crevasse behind her, her scream echoing and fading as she plummeted downwards and then disappearing entirely.

“Where would you be without me, eh?”

Loghain turned to Hawke and offered her a hand, pulling her up off her feet. She was shaking.

“Warden Loghain... never thought I’d owe you my life.” Loghain smiled a smile that was this time warm and genuine.

“Well, this life is full of surprises. Now come on, our friends need us.” They turned back to the battle but it seemed that was no longer the case. The Qunari and Templars lay dead on the floor and the Wardens were dusting off and wiping away the bloodstains. Ariane saw the two of them and rushed over.

“Champion Hawke, Senior Warden Loghain, thank The Creators you made it. I lost sight of you and feared for your lives.”

“It’ll take a lot more than some Templar to take us down, Ariane,” Loghain reassured her. “What did we miss? Any casualties?”

“Most of the Templars and Qunari were killed but before the battle ended I saw Seeker Lucius run off into the thaig, I think he might be the one with Katana’s phylactery. Sten broke off from the fight after he left and gave chase. And...” Ariane’s bottom lip quivered. There were tears in her eyes. She gestured for them to follow.

Hawke and Loghain rejoined the others in the square, Hawke nodding at Sebastian with relief. Her face then fell when she turned and saw the body Ariane stood sobbing over. Finn lay there, a dagger sticking from his chest. His eyes were open but blank, empty, seeing nothing at all. Hawke felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to see Anders.

“Hawke,” he said. “It’s Carver, he’s injured. He’ll live but the injuries will take a while for me to heal.” He shot a glance at Finn’s corpse, his eyes filled with bitter sadness. “Especially on my own. Anyway, he’ll be fine but I don’t think he’s really in any position to fight. Oghren’s a little concussed as well, if we fight alongside him he’s probably more dangerous to us, and Stroud’s arm is badly wounded.” Hawke sighed and half-heartedly kicked a rock in frustration.

“Ok everyone, listen up.” Hawke turned her head to see Loghain standing there, chest puffed out.

“We all know we’re in very little position to fight,” he declared, and there were nods of agreement all around. Except from Oghren, who was sitting on a boulder and blinking far too rhythmically for Hawke’s liking. “But with Lucius and Sten going after Katana we have no choice but to move on. And I, like my fellow Wardens among our number, can sense the darkspawn approaching.” The Wardens nodded along with Anders while the eyes of Sebastian and Hawke widened with fear. “So I propose that while Anders heals Carver, Oghren, and Stroud, Sebastian and Ariane stay to guard them from darkspawn while Hawke and I continue on. Objections?” All eyes turned to Hawke.

“I...” Hawke stuttered. “Fine,” she sighed, “I’ll go with you. But Anders, as soon as these two,” she gestured at the wounded Carver, the sweating Stroud and the swaying Oghren, “are patched up the lot of you come and find us. Two people won’t last long if we have to go deeper into this thaig than we’d like.”

“I don’t know who you are,” said Sebastian, stepping forwards. Hawke had forgotten about his dramatic return. “But I’m not letting two people wander off into the Deep Roads by themselves. Stroud and I were nearly killed. Magnus WAS killed. I’m sure this Warden,” he nodded at Ariane, “is perfectly capable of defending against this darkspawn. Why do you even want to follow these people further into the thaig, anyhow?” Loghain shook his head.

“Ariane can fill you in while you wait here with her. The darkspawn were drawn here by the sounds of battle, there are a great deal on their way but we can’t afford to let that Qunari and the Seeker get what they want. And it’s Loghain, by the way. Loghain Mac Tir.” Sebastian recoiled in disgust.

“I... I’ll be happy to wait here and defend these people, thank you very much,” he said with shock. “Don’t let me keep you waiting, from what I assume you two have a lost Warden to find.” Hawke nodded and looked at Loghain, who nodded back at her. They were ready.


	8. New World Order

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forced to carry on alone, Hawke and Loghain must find Katana and save the precious map she carried with her into the Deep Roads. However, first they must finally confront the unlikely enemy that led them there and learn that not everyone who is lost wishes to be found.

They were so close now.

There had been no time for proper goodbyes to the others, Lucius and Sten already had a head start. Hawke hadn’t even been able to check on Carver before Loghain had set off. Before she left she’d spoken to Sebastian, however. He promised to fill her in on the details of where he’d been but he’d told her one thing: Magnus hadn’t made it. So many dead, she thought. And she’d just come down to find her brother then go.

They’d race through the thaig, Champion and Warden side-by-side, leaving Sebastian and Ariane to defend the wounded from darkspawn while Anders tended to them. By the time they’d left the main square Loghain had already been able to sense another Warden nearby, on the far side of the thaig. Katana was near, but Lucius and Sten were closing in fast. Much faster than they were.

“Over there!” Loghain said, veering off of their path and running towards what must once have been an alley. A man lay there, soaked in blood, and as Hawke drew closer she recognised him as Seeker Lucius.

“Lucius,” said Loghain, kneeling by the wounded Seeker. “What happened?” The Seeker coughed, rubbing his rubs.

“That Qunari... she beat me up pretty bad. She caught up with me, attacked me and took the phylactery. She didn’t even stop to finish me off. The blood’s not mine, it’s Qunari blood from the fight. I’ll live.”

“We’ll see about that,” Loghain sneered, drawing his knife. Before the Warden could execute the Seeker, Lucius punched him in the face and scampered off into the darkness. Loghain hissed and spat out blood as Hawke helped him up.

“Damn fool,” Loghain grumbled. “No matter, he’s heading the wrong way if he wants to find Katana. He won’t last long down here on his own, let’s go.” He wiped the blood from his face and raced off, Hawke barely keeping up behind him. Say what you want about that man, he was driven. He could go on for days. They turned a corner and then another, finding themselves on a weaving path that wove throughout the thaig. Loghain was picking up the pace and Hawke herself was starting to hear some voices from up ahead. Two women, both with Qunlat accents.

“Is that...?” Hawke asked through pants of breath. Loghain nodded.

“Sten is the first voice. The second... that’s Katana for sure.” Loghain led Hawke through a building and around another corner, this time passing under an archway. They’d left the main area of the thaig. This must be the thaig’s version of Dust Town.

And then they saw them.

Sten was on her knees, her face bruised and bloodied and one of her arms looked broken. One of her horns had been brutally chopped off, or perhaps torn away with bare hands. Another Qunari woman knelt in front of her, clad in Warden armour with blue and silver vitaar on her face. Her skin was blotched, patches of black and white and grey running all over her body. She was almost a ghoul. She might already be one.

“The Qun... dictates... your death... tal-vashoth...” Sten said between winces and gasps. She must have broken several ribs. Katana stared down at her, eyes completely black.  
“The Qun doesn’t dictate shit for me anymore.” Katana reached into the satchel that hung from her waste and pulled out a tightly-bound scroll, waving it in Sten’s face tauntingly before stowing it away back in her bag. Hawke heard Loghain stifle a gasp. The map. It must be.

“I’ll see Par Vollen burn, fool,” Katana chuckling mockingly, spitting in Sten’s face. “Qunandar will be sacked, Seheron wiped off the map. The Qunari will learn what true order is, they will see that no good can come from their oppression and dictatorship. True order is the command of gods, not the trifle shouts of men. The blind will be made to see. But you? I don’t think you deserve the honour.” Katana gripped Sten by the head and twisted, snapping her neck. As Sten’s limp body fell to the floor Katana stood up and stared at the shocked Hawke and Loghain, who stood tensely in front of her waiting to act. Katana licked her lips and blinked. When she opened her eyes they were no longer black. They were red, as were the veins that ran throughout her body, and shone with a piercing light.

“You must be the guests I was expecting,” Katana sang eerily. “I’ve had so many others today, but none have been the ones I was hoping for until now. You were expecting me too, weren’t you?”

“What is that?” Loghain whispered to Hawke. She took a deep breath, terrified. Something was going on here.

“It’s the effects of blood magic. Very, very powerful blood magic if it causes physical change like that. It’s not just her body that’s being controlled, it’s her thoughts.” Katana cackled.

“I’m not being controlled, human. I’ve been enlightened. Showed the true path. I’ve come down to these tainted halls to aid the spread of the Blight itself. The Old Gods themselves are now my masters. What you called my Calling, you and so many other fools, I call my rebirth.”

“Just throw us the map, Katana,” Loghain ordered. “You have no use for it down here, no matter your... damage.”Again, Katana cackled like a mad witch.

“The map is what this is all about, Senior Warden Loghain. You just can’t see it. The Chantry and Imperium are not the only ones with an interest in conquering the Qunari. A far more familiar enemy of yours would benefit a great deal from it. No,” she shook her head while laughing. “Not the Orlesians. An enemy you’ve rather too much of in the past few years.”

Loghain scoffed. “You expect me to believe the darkspawn plan to conquer Par Vollen? They’re monsters. Animals. Nothing more.”

“Perhaps the majority,” said a gravelly voice from behind Katana. “But some seek more than just writhing in the dirt.”

The sound of footsteps was heard from behind Katana, metal boots on stone. A tall, cloaked figure stepped out from behind a corner, a hood over their face and a staff in their hand. They let the cloak drop as they walked forwards, revealing dented black armour and a twisted black and white face. The face of a hurlock.

“Greetings, travellers,” the hurlock hissed. Hawke and Loghain recoiled. The darkspawn. It was talking.

“My name is The Harrowed. You may know of my kind, Warden Loghain. You know your friend Warden-Commander Mahariel has fought my kind extensively before. I must say I didn’t expect the Wardens to actively seek out Katana after she left for her Calling, and definitely didn’t expect the presence of Qunari or Chantryfolk.”

“You know about The Chantry and Qunari?” Hawke asked incredulously.

“And why not?” The Harrowed replied. “I have studied your culture and lore extensively since my Awakening. The darkspawn people need every advantage possible to spread our glory to the surface lands, no good can come of ignorance.”

“You want to conquer the surface?” Loghain asked. “I thought the Disciples sought peace with the surface races.” The Harrowed sneered.

“The heathens that followed The Architect did, that is true. But I am one of the true Disciples, a follower of the Old Gods and harbinger of the purity of Blight. I am not content to let your people fester in filth, human. I wish to spread ascension to the surface lands and elevate all of you surfacekin to a new understanding. You will embrace the Taint and become a new, better race.”

“What even are you?” Hawke asked. “What do you want with the map? Are you some new breed of darkspawn?”

“It’s a Disciple,” Loghain replied. “Part of a group of darkspawn forced to drink Grey Warden blood and achieve sentience by an advanced darkspawn called The Architect. It was the start of the Amaranthine Conflict. Warden-Commander Mahariel slew The Architect and the darkspawn that opposed him. The Mother. The Grey Wardens killed the majority of the Disciples but we knew many had escaped and as long as one of these monsters lives the prospect of a new Blight lives with them. A Blight doesn’t need an Archdemon, all it needs is a sentient, tainted creature to lead the darkspawn to ravage the surface. The Architect did so, The Mother did so, any disciple could do the same. Let’s kill it, grab the map and get out of here.” As Loghain strode towards The Harrowed Katana stepped in front of him. She picked him up by his collar and tossed him backwards. He hit the ground with a thud and Hawke rushed to help him.

“The women of the Qunari species are used to create broodmothers which spawn the dreaded ogres,” The Harrowed continued as Loghain dusted himself off. “We have but a few Qunari broodmothers, resulting in our small number of ogres compared to other darkspawn. Imagine if the darkspawn horde could rise and conquer Par Vollen. Using this map the united horde could awaken an Archdemon and then march out of the Deep Roads into the Qunari lands. With no Wardens to defend them the Qunari would be massacred, every last man on the island killed and every last woman dragged underground to become broodmothers. Thousands of ogres would spawn every day, ready for the new Archdemon to lead them on a mass Blight all across Thedas. We would be unstoppable. Every surfacer would feel the wrath of the horde and the Taint would consume Thedas in a wave of black glory. And when the surface races all lay dead or succumbed to the Taint the glory of the Blight would be felt in all places. It would be beautiful.”

“Why help this abomination, Katana?” Loghain asked. “You were a Warden. You fought darkspawn and Blights.”

“Katana is quite under my control, Warden Loghain,” The Harrowed replied. “You may recall that several days before leaving for her Calling Warden Katana went on a small expedition into the Deep Roads. I’d known of her possession of the map for some time after hearing it from a Warden I captured many months ago. Upon hearing that Warden Katana had entered the Deep Roads I sent darkspawn to attack her and bring me a sample of her blood. They did so, engaging in a brief skirmish with her before escaping with a vial-full. I used a blood magic ritual upon the sample and eventually managed to take control of Warden Katana, making her take the map and leave for my hideaway in the Deep Roads on a premature Calling. She reached me several days ago and we have been making our way to the nearest Old God prison that houses the Old God Razikale. We shall awaken him and begin another great Blight, this time starting in Par Vollen. Katana will be turned into a broodmother, I will unite my fellow Disciples under Razikale’s banner and we will reign supreme over the surface.” Loghain drew his sword.

“I may not have wanted to be a Warden, but I have a duty. You die here, darkspawn. I will not allow one single member of your filthy kind to pollute the surface ever again, I would give my life to prevent it.” Katana drew her own blade in response.

“You may have to,” the Qunari growled at Loghain, then charged forwards.

Katana swung at Loghain but he knocked it aside with his shield easily, slashing at Katana and opened up a long cut in her midriff. Hawke summoned flames to strike Katana but The Harrowed pushed at the air, sending her flying back. Hawke threw a lightning bolt at The Harrowed that the darkspawn dodged narrowly before casting a hex on Loghain. The Warden stumbled back, stunned, and Katana was about to slice his head from his shoulders before Hawke threw a fireball at her and knocked her off of her feet. Katana’s clothes caught ablaze and The Harrowed was forced to extinguish the flame with a wave of his hand, giving Hawke time to purge the hex from Loghain’s mind. The Harrowed then threw up a wall of fire between himself and his opponents, cursing when he saw that Katana was also on the other side of the wall.

“The map, Katana!” The Harrowed screeched. “Throw me the map!” As Loghain charged at her, Katana reached into her bag and pulled out the map to throw to The Harrowed. Just as she was throwing the map, however, Loghain barged into her and ran her through with his blade. The map was tossed weakly from Katana’s suddenly limp hand and fell into The Harrowed’s wall of flame, catching alight instantly and being reduced to ash within seconds.

“No!” Loghain and The Harrowed screamed in unison. The Harrowed dissipated the wall of fire and Loghain let Katana’s body fall to the ground as the two of them ran towards the pile of ash that had once been a map of Par Vollen. They rummaged desperately through the ashes, cursing as they found nothing but soot. They both looked up, their eyes meeting and leaped at each other. Loghain forced The Harrowed to the ground but the Disciple’s hand crackled with electricity and struck Loghain’s head, knocking him to the ground where he lay convulsing with spasms. As The Harrowed got up he locked eyes with Hawke, the two mages at a standoff. Hawke threw fire, The Harrowed threw lightning and there was an almighty explosion as the two spells met in the middle. Hawke, much closer to the explosion, was sent flying backwards. The Harrowed marched up to her, picked her up off the ground and held her in the air, pushing her face up to his own mangled, deformed visage.

“This isn’t the last you’ve heard of the Disciples, human. The Blight will swallow your precious world whole and everything you know and love will turn sick and black. We will bring along a new world order and-”The Harrowed’s face then twisted as he gasped in pain, his monologue cut off. He let go of Hawke and she landed on her feet as the body of the Disciple fell to the floor, a dagger sticking from its back. Carver Hawke stood where it once did, grinning.

“Looks like I get a chance to be the hero this time, eh sister?”

***

ONE WEEK LATER

Hawke breathed fresh air for the first time in who knows how long as they stepped out of the Deep Roads and into the surface. Just outside Estwatch, or so she was told. Either way, it was incredible to feel the sun on her face again. She turned to check on the rest of the group. Anders looked like he might cry from happiness. Carver was blinking in the sunlight, Sebastian was sniffing a flower, Stroud was breathing the fresh air in deeply and Oghren was chugging from his flask, as usual. The last to leave the tunnels were Ariane and Loghain, who carried the sack containing the body of Finn between them. Ariane had insisted on bringing him to the surface for a proper pyre. As the two laid the corpse down, Loghain headed over to Hawke.

“We plan to start building a pyre for Finn after we’ve taken in the view,” Loghain said. “Then it’s back to the keep for us Wardens and back to Kirkwall for you and your friends. Sebastian volunteered to provide a little service for Finn before we burn him.” Hawke smiled.

“You know, if anyone had told me I’d go into the Deep Roads looking for my brother and leave calling Loghain Mac Tir a friend, I’d have told them they were drunk or mad.” She shook her head, chuckling. “But they’d have still been right.” She offered Loghain her hand and he shook it. “Thank you, Loghain. I hope this isn’t the last I see of you. You’re staying in the Free Marches, right? At least for a while?”

“For a month or two,” Loghain replied. “I’ll keep your brother safe, don’t worry. And if you ever find yourself plagued by the Blight or have an Archdemon knocking on your door, you know who to call for help. Otherwise I’ll just show up in Kirkwall every now and then when I have some leave to use. It’s been an honour, Champion.”

“Same here, Senior Warden.” The two went to shake hands, then laughed and embraced instead. The two turned back to see the others talking, laughing with each other, basking in the warm sunlight. Only Ariane stayed solemn, still hunched over the dead body of Finn.

“Come on, Champion,” Loghain said with a sad smile. “Time to put a hero to rest.” Hawke nodded.

“I hope it’s the last time anyone has to say that.”

And with that the two of them turned around and walked, side by side, to do their duty.


End file.
